Forum Competition #122 - "A Blast From The Past"

[yachtsman1]

The competition is now closed.
My Competition Comments.
In the last forum comp' I won, I didn't make many comments on the entries. In this one I was determined to give a fuller description to what I saw. I'm no judge & have cursed a few in my camera club days, but since I went DSLR in 2007, I've seen a lot of pictures, so my views are based on what I judge to
a) fit the brief & b) the quality as seen on my monitor.
I hope I don't offend anyone and to those who didn't win, your time will come, believe me. This time I started a list of comments as soon as the pictures appeared, so I've been able to say more by not being rushed.

In chronological order my comments are as follows.
Phil Ingham.
Ancoats. An unusual subject, having been born 7 miles from where the picture was taken I never knew the significance. So as a subject matter, proves interesting.
The picture on my monitor looks a little washed out. IMO reducing the brightness would improve its appearance. Thought provoking subject.

Donna
Ingleton Falls trail.
During our 4 years in Wensleydale, we went through Ingleton a few times on the way south, in fact a picture of hikers from myAutumn Dales AV show was taken there.
The picture, the trail itself doesn't jump out and hit me, instead my eyes were drawn to the rear ground with the low cloud or mist rolling down the hills. IMO it looks as if the trail was in shadow from cloud & maybe waiting a few minutes may have caught a break & lit the trail better. I got the impression the trail wasn't the original subject matter of the shot.

Mel
Beamish Museum.
When we lived in the Dales, Beamish was on my list of places to visit, but being on a pensioner budget seemed expensive if you included the fuel costs. I've seen quite a number of images from Beamish & a few AV shows, it's a popular photography subject.
The picture, at first I had a problem relating it to the competition title, as Beamish dates from the 70's & is not 100 years of age, however, the essence of the subject is there, so as this isn't a judgement for an RPS Fellowship, I've accepted it. I like the impression the image gives with those “dark satanic mills” theme. I would have liked to see the full Frys sign in the foreground, but the tramlines leads the eye nicely through the picture, pity there wasn't a tram in the distance. Overall I liked it.

Lisa Croft
The Burial Mound
This is a one off for me, can't say I've taken pictures of any burial mounds before, a few graves yes, but no burial mounds.
The image, a pleasant landscape picture with plenty of colour in the fore & mid ground from the wild flowers & grass. However this is where the picture doesn't do it for me, taking into account the camera that took the shot, it's unfortunate the subject of the title the burial mound, is out of focus, nice landscape view though.

Stbourne
Barton Arcade.
Living only 7 miles from the subject from birth, Manchester was a regular visiting place, I remember when it was only sixpence (old money) return from Charlestown Station in Ashton-u-Lyne where I was born, to Victoria station in Manchester. As a 10 year old the trips were great adventures, & Barton Arcade was always on the list for a look-see when doing Deansgate.
The image, This is one of my favourites & fits the subject matter correctly, in fact I was almost convinced it was a professional record shot, the sepia-ish look gives it that Victorian feel. The balconies draw the eye towards the rear of the picture inviting the viewer to come & see what is in the shops making one want to see more.


Janice
Brimham Rocks
This was a regular visit for local camera clubs when I lived in Wensleydale, however, not being the energetic types we never made the effort. For those who haven't been there, the TV Programme Helicopter Heroes opening titles had some spectacular overhead images. A couple of the local clubs I was a member of had similar images entered in their comp's. Another site of the same ilk is Malham Cove Malhamdale, which has better access.
The image, I've seen lots of pictures of this view, some by professional photographers, IMO being brutally frank, it has been cropped too tight. The best pictures IMO of this view are either from a viewpoint further back & low down, or in very close showing the rock strata. If you Google images by Christine Whitehead, you'll see what I mean. Alternatively a mono conversion with a strong contrast would have enhanced it. However this is only a personal “opinion” not a judgement.

Dennisg
Flowerdale House.
Studied this for a long time, convinced myself it wasn't straight. Then downloaded it & viewed it under a grid, & yes it was straight. The picture to me looks quite grainy, I assume it's been HDR'd? Not much more I can say, it fits the brief & that's about it.

Gwenbarnes.
"Old Faithful"
Yes it is more than 100 years old, nice colourful shot which shows the geyser off to a tee. You have to be patient to get such a shot. Reminded me of last year when I tried to video the jousting Knights in Wells Cathedral & missed them as the crowd surged forward.

John
The cartes-de-visite collection.
I love old photographs & I am sad we ditched all ours when we went to live on the boat. Had to look twice at the woman with the child on her knees, thought she was flashing at first glance. I think I saw George the V & the unmistakable Queen Victoria. The picture “smelled” musty & evokes the past.

Phil Jones
Victorian Architecture.
This one brought up a smile & a memory of a trip in our boat from Largs to Rothesy where they have the most palatial Victorian toilets I've ever seen. They even had glass panels on the cysterns so you could watch the flush.
The image, I suppose flash was used as the top half looks a little washed out? If it had been me, I might have showed it in mono with a bit of grain to evoke the era, good record though.

Ian Yarwood.
Verdel Motorcycle.
I got my first motorbike in 1956, but I must confess I've never heard of a Verdel. I did some checking on the 'net & came up with this “The Verdel and the Packer were constructed in Clitheroe, Lancashire, UK a few years back by a talented maintainance engineer. Both the Verdel and the Packer were sold to Sammy Miller as such.
Verdel did exist but made aircraft engines, no records exist, Packer did exist as motorcycle manufcaturer but again no information exists.”
The nearest thing I ever saw to it was a Douglas Dragonfly which was from the 40's & fifties, which was a horizontally opposed flat twin, never seen a MB before with a radial engine, looks like a light aircraft engine.. I had my last MB in 1959, a Triumph 500cc speed twin with a sprung hub which were made specifically to use with a sidecar.
Sorry to rabbit on but some of these pictures evoke memories.
The picture, A good record shot considering where it was taken. If you had used the Elliptical Marque tool in Elements or PS, with a soft brush, drawn it outside the image, gone to select inverse, then Filter Blur, you could have blurred the image in the back-ground, rather than the vignette effect which would IMO have enhanced the image. Certainly fits the brief I think.

Walter Brooks.
Duckworth & Company Factory.
When I saw this it looked familiar, when I was a young Refrigeration Engineer in the early sixties, I worked for a few weeks installing equipment at a company called Smileys Bacon Warehouse on Stretford Road Manchester. After some checking I confirmed it was just up the road from Smileys. “The Duckworth Company factory's founded in Manchester in 1885 by 24 year-old William Duckworth. In 1896 the company moved to this new purpose-built premises in Old Trafford. The Duckworth Group was a manufacturer of flavourings and fruit compounds. In 2003, the Duckworth Group was taken over by Cargill”.
The Picture
It's a pity that only a small portion of the building is shown, it must be nearly 75 yards long, maybe a wide angle lens should be on the shopping list? Well done to take a daylight shot minus the traffic, this road is like a race track at rush hour. For a near full sized picture see http://www.flickr.com/photos/andy_mcr/408142200/

Keasla.
The Ashton Memorial.
I must have passed this building over a thousand times but never seen it up close as this image. I like the mono treatment, reflections of those dark satanic mills, I would have liked to see a landscape version taken from the same position. However, the portrait view empathsises the height & towering dominance of the structure & creates a sinister effect, my type of shot, might even make a visit this summer.


Collier 15
Haigh Hall.
I attended a meeting of “The Large Model Group” here (No not overweight photographic models, model aircraft.) So this is the first picture of the hall I've seen.
The picture, On my monitor it looks lke an HDR affect has been applied & the sky looks grainy, whether this was intentional to covey some age, I'm not sure, maybe a sepia finish would have won it for me?



The results, from 14 entries, in reverse order.
3rd place “The Ashton Memorial”.
2nd place “The Beamish Museum”
1st place “Barton Arcade”
Well done the winners, & thanks to all who entered.
Eric.

[John]

Many thanks for the very prompt and comprehensive judging, you did just fine.

Congratulations to the winners and especially to Shaun who gets the opportunity to set his own competition. We'll look forward to seeing what you come up with Shaun!

[yachtsman1]

Thanks John
Regards Eric.

[Stbourne]

I am truly "Gob smacked" at winning with so many
great images in this subjects comp. Eric thank you
for choosing my pic & the opportunity to now set a subject.
I am unprepared with a subject so will post when I've had
a ponder on the matter later today.
Thank you John.

Regards

Shaun

[Janice Freeman]

It was good to see so many entries for this comp. Made Eric's job a bit more difficult with some super images to consider. Well judged Eric and congratulations to Shaun on winning. Keep those entries flooding in - I enjoy this comp. Await your choice of subject Shaun.


Janice

[Phil Jones]

Hi All.
Thanks Eric for the competition & judging & congratulations Shaun for winning! That was my favourite image too!

Regards,

Phil.